Hello, dears! I hope that you are all doing well, especially now that we are nearing the holiday season. I know that this is a difficult time of year for some, and I want to be mindful of that. I myself tend to struggle during this season, I get over excited and my anxiety skyrockets. It’s not the same as, say, dealing with PTSD or grief, but I can definitely sympathize. My heart goes out to each and every one of you who are struggling. You are all in my prayers.
This post is mostly just a letter to those of you who are struggling with the onset of Thanksgiving and Christmas. I pray that the Lord will use my words to encourage someone who needs to hear them <3.
Dear Girl Who Is Struggling During The Holiday Season,
I’m not sure how to start this letter. I thought I would know how to, and then I didn’t. Truth be told, I’m scared of saying the wrong thing and hurting you even more. I am praying that the Lord would give me the right words to put on this page to encourage you.
The holidays are fast approaching, and with those most likely comes a sense of dread for you. The rest of the world is caught up in the hustle and bustle of Christmas, and you’re just wishing you could hide from it all. Maybe you’ve been just having a bad year, or maybe this time of year reminds you of one you lost. Maybe you’re breaking inside and don’t know how you can manage to paste a smile on your face for even another day, let alone an entire holiday season. Maybe you’re just up numb. Trust me, I’ve been there. I know what it’s like to be breaking when everyone else seems to be happy.
It sucks.
I want you to understand something about Christmas. We humans have added a lot on to it. It started out as the birthday of a King who chose to humbly be born in a manger. A filthy feeding trough that animals ate out of. And then we chose to add on all this other stuff (Santa Claus, Christmas trees, twinkly lights, gifts, etc). That is not the essence of Christmas. Jesus is the essence of Christmas. And He doesn’t want anything more from you except your heart.
If you’re wondering if you can even hold on for another day, I want you to stop and take a deep breath. You don’t have to take part in all the extra stuff. You can just spend this holiday season focusing on Jesus. Maybe this is small, such as choosing to pray to Him throughout the day, or maybe it’s big, such as completely flipping your life around for Him. Cry out to Him, He will listen, and He cares. He is near to the brokenhearted (Psalm 34:18), He loves you with love that we cannot even begin to fathom. You don’t have to pretend with Him. You can come as you are, broken and lost, slowly dying inside. He won’t turn you away. He created you and looks at you with infinite love, He wants to help you and is calling out to you. Listen to Him. He adores you.
My challenge for you this holiday season is to do just a few simple things. Break them up into little chunks if you need to. First, read the Christmas story and study it. There are plenty of free Bible reading plans online for this. Or, you can just read it without a plan. You can find the Christmas story in Luke 1-2 and Matthew 1-2. Second, focus on gratitude. Just write down something you’re grateful for each day. One thing. Third, listen to Christmas music that focuses more on Jesus and less on holidays. That’s it, three things. You can do that, okay?
There’s a song that was the inspiration for this blog post. It’s called Somewhere In Your Silent Night and it’s by Casting Crowns. It’s one of my favorite Christmas songs because it so accurately acknowledges the pain that so many of us are feeling at this time of year. To close this post out, I’m going to share the lyrics of it with you.
Somewhere In Your Silent Night
All is calm and all is bright
Everywhere but in your heart tonight
They’re singing carols of joy and peace
But you feel too far gone and too far out of reach
Somewhere in your silent night
Heaven hears the song your broken heart has cried
Hope is here, just lift your head
For love has come to find you
Somewhere in your silent night
From heaven’s height to manger low
There is no distance the Prince of Peace won’t go
From manger low to Calvary’s hill
When your pain runs deep
His love runs deeper still
He has always loved you, child
And He always will
Somewhere in your silent night
Heaven hears the song your broken heart has cried
Hope is here, just lift your head
For love has come to find you
Somewhere in your silent night
Lift your head
Lift your heart
Emmanuel will meet you where you are
He knows your hurt
He knows your name
And you’re the very reason that He came
Somewhere in your silent night
Heaven hears the song your broken heart has cried
Hope is here, just lift your head
For love has come to find you
Somewhere in your silent night
Love will find you
Love will find you
Love will find you
You can find the audio version of it on YouTube here. I am praying dearly that this post was able to bring encouragement to someone out there. God loves you and won’t ever leave you. Take care this holiday season <3.
If you enjoyed this post, please don’t forget that click like, leave a comment, and subscribe! Keep your eyes on Jesus, dears. 💛
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